Written by Gary
United Airlines buys 25 additional Boeing 737 Max jets in vote of confidence in the planes (SPY +2.3%). DOW industrials up as bond yields ease and stocks return to winning form in March kickoff.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are broadly higher today with shares in U.S. leading the region. The S&P 500 is up 2.33% while Brazil’s Bovespa is up 1.92% and Mexico’s IPC is up 0.91%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| Aramco Seeking To Extend Loan $10 Billion LoanSaudi Aramco is reportedly seeking to extend a $10-billion loan, according to Reuters, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter, who confirmed an initial report by a Reuters-related news outlet. Aramco took the loan from a group of banks last year in May to finance its acquisition of Sabic, the Saudi petrochemicals major, which cost the energy company some $69 billion and wrapped up in June 2020. The loan was supposed to be repaid from the proceeds of a bond that Aramco issued later last year. However, the company did not repay the |
| OPEC Oil Production Plunges In February Thanks To Saudi CutSaudi Arabias unilateral additional cut in oil production sent the total OPEC output down by 870,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February, the first monthly drop in the cartels production since June last year, the monthly Reuters poll showed on Monday. The total crude oil production from all 13 OPEC members stood at 24.89 million bpd last month, with Saudi Arabia achieving around 850,000 bpd of its pledged 1-million-bpd cut beyond its OPEC+ quota, according to the Reuters survey of OPEC sources, sources at oil firms, and tanker-tracking |
| Tesla No Longer Absolute Leader In EV MarketsTesla is still the reigning monarch on the electric vehicle market, but its power is no longer absolute. Many would consider buying another EV brand as long as it beats Tesla on performance, new research from J.D. Power has suggested. In its first-ever U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration Study, the company found that over a quarter, or 27 percent, of people considering a purchase of an EV would pick a Tesla. However, their choice was not unconditional, the study showed. If there was another brand that offered better performance, EV shoppers would |
| Oil Prices Rally As U.S. House Passes Stimulus PackageOil prices rose early on Monday after the U.S. House passed the stimulus package, and another COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use in the United States. As of 10:23 a.m. ET, WTI Crude prices were up 0.59 percent at $61.88 and Brent Crude was up 0.78 at $64.94. Following a slump on Friday, oil prices recovered on Monday, after the U.S. House of Representatives passed on Saturday President Joe Bidens proposed $1.9-trillion COVID relief package, which now needs Senate approval. The progress in the stimulus package approval after weeks |
| Texas Power Cooperative Files For BankruptcyBrazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc., a power supplier in Texas, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of the energy crisis brought on the state by an Arctic weather spell last month. Reuters reports that the power cooperative was forced to file for Chapter 11 protection because of a $1.8 billion bill that the states grid operator presented it. The inflated invoice amount was due to Brazos failure to supply contracted volumes of electricity. The Texas grid operator, ERCOT, said electricity providers had amassed a total |
| Trump: Bidens Policies To Bring Energy Disaster To The U.S.In his first public speech since leaving office in January, former President Donald Trump slammed President Joe Bidens energy policies and said they would bring an energy disaster to America. The pro-oil former president touted throughout his term in office Americas energy independence, supported the oil industry, and issued a Presidential Permit to the U.S.-Canada Keystone XL oil pipeline. Trump also actively engaged with OPEC and the OPEC+ group to influence their decisions, including by tweets and phone calls to the |
| Delta hands out bonuses to managers whose pay was cut in the pandemicDelta managers are getting bonuses, some of them in the six figures, after getting pay cuts last year at the start of the pandemic. |
| Dr. Scott Gottlieb sees promising signs that Covid vaccines reduce virus transmissionPfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC there is growing evidence showing Covid vaccines cut down on person-to-person spread of the virus. |
| McDonald’s considers partial sale of technology startup Dynamic YieldThe company plans to sell Dynamic Yield’s third-party business, which is outside what it provides to McDonald’s restaurants. |
| United Airlines buys 25 additional Boeing 737 Max jets in vote of confidence in the planesUnited is buying 25 additional Boeing 737 Max planes. |
| J&J CEO says single-shot Covid vaccine will keep people out of the hospital, prevent deathsCEO Alex Gorsky told CNBC that J&J’s newly approved vaccine will be an important tool in the fight against the pandemic. |
| Major offshore wind farm using 187-meter high turbines starts to produce powerThe U.K. is a world leader in the offshore wind sector. |
| Florida Gov. DeSantis accused of favoritism in distributing Covid vaccine, Congress urged to investigateFlorida democrat Nikki Fried accused DeSantis of “inept distribution of vaccines at best, and corrupt political patronage at worst.” |
| Gatorade made a smart patch that measures your sweat and hydrationGatorade is getting into the wearable fitness craze. The drink maker is launching the Sweat Patch to help athletes measure their fitness and hydration. |
| Fauci says Biden administration is taking new Covid variant in New York ‘very seriously’Fauci said the New York strain likely originated in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in the uppermost area of Manhattan, before spreading to other boroughs. |
| CDC director ‘really worried’ about states rolling back Covid safety measures as U.S. cases appear to plateauThe CDC director said she is “really worried” about states rolling back Covid-19 restrictions as cases appear to be leveling off at a “very high number.” |
| Walmart nabs Goldman Sachs bankers to help lead its new fintech start-upThe retail giant is looking for other ways to drive revenue, from advertising to financial services. |
| Not just Tesla: Tech analyst says electric vehicle stocks could soar 50% this yearElectric vehicle stocks could climb by 50% this year, according to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, who thinks there’s enough room in the market for Tesla rivals. |
| Op-ed: Here’s the key decision that paved the way for development of Covid vaccinesDevelopment of the vaccines has largely been due to a singular decision made after World War II, writes Walter Isaacson. |
| $7 Billion Fund Unravels As “Emperor Of Supply-Chain Finance” Has No Clothes$7 Billion Fund Unravels As “Emperor Of Supply-Chain Finance” Has No Clothes Less than a month ago, Lex Greensill was heralded as “the king of supply-chain finance”…
London-based Greensill Capital was heralded for apparently revamping the humdrum business of supply-chain finance, a kind of lending that speeds up payments between companies. Bloomberg reported in early Feb that the 44-year-old financier says the firm provided $150 billion to businesses and customers in 175 countries last year. … |
| Dems Ditch Minimum Wage Tax Scheme To Fast-Track $1.9 Trillion StimulusDems Ditch Minimum Wage Tax Scheme To Fast-Track $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Senate Democrats are ditching a proposal to use tax code to penalize corporations which don’t raise the minimum wage for their lowest paid workers, according to Bloomberg. According to two anonymous sources, the move comes after Democrats were left seeking alternatives after the Senate parliamentarian nixed raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package. With the minimum wage discussion out of the way, for now, the Senate “could begin consideration of the stimulus measure as soon as Wednesday ” with final votes as soon as late Thursday ” pending full Democratic support and sign off from the parliamentarian,” according to the report. The tax penalties were proposed by Senate Fina … |
| A Primer On Commodity ‘Supercycles’A Primer On Commodity ‘Supercycles’ Authored by Mark Burton, Thomas Biesheuvel, and Alex Longley via Fortune.com, A surge in commodity prices has Wall Street banks gearing up for the arrival of what may be a new – an extended period during which demand drives prices well above their long-run trend. A major impetus is the massive stimulus spending by governments as they juice up their economies following pandemic lockdowns. The evidence includes surging copper and agricultural prices and oil back at pre-COVID-19 levels. One theory is that this could be just the start of a years-long rally in appetite for raw materials across the board, but the reality is more complicated.
1. What is a supercycle? A sustained spell of abnormally strong demand growth that producers struggle to match, sparking a rally in prices that can last years or in some cases a decade or more. For some analysts, the current rally is rekindling memories of the su … |
| It’s “Gonna Disrupt The F**k Out Of Big Tech” – Crypto Roars Back As Citi Sees Imminent ‘Tipping Point’ In Global TradeIt’s “Gonna Disrupt The F**k Out Of Big Tech” – Crypto Roars Back As Citi Sees Imminent ‘Tipping Point’ In Global Trade Bitcoin has soared back above $48,000 this morning, after crashing near a $42,000 handle over the weekend, following Congress’ passing of Biden’s stimulus package.
However, perhaps most notably, in a 108-page deep-dive into cryptocurrencies, Citi said there had been a major change in bitcoin from “primarily a retail-focused endeavor to something that looks attractive for institutional investors” as they search for higher returns and alternative assets.
Additionally, Citi says Bitcoin could be at the start of a “massive transformation” into the mainstream of finance and could even become the currency of global trade.
They also warned that improvements to crypto … |
| Heathrow Airport seven-hour queues ‘inhumane’, say passengersTravellers complain of having to queue for up to seven hours because of new Covid measures at border control. |
| Joe Biden takes swipe at Amazon over union fightAs Amazon workers vote on joining a union, the US president says “there should be no intimidation” from employers. |
| Covid: ‘People are tired of working from home’Canary Wharf expects people to return to the office but may choose home working some of the time. |
| MTAR Tech IPO opens on Wednesday. What you should know before subscribingIn the first nine months of FY21, revenue grew by 16% to Rs 177 crore and profit increased by 25% to Rs 28 crore. The outstanding order book was Rs 336 core at the end of December 2020, which is 1.6 times the FY20 revenues. |
| RBI remains net buyer of US dollar in December, buys $10.014 bnDuring the reporting month, the central bank bought $10.014 billion and sold $6.023 billion in the spot market, the RBI said in its monthly bulletin for February 2021. |
| Buy IIFL Finance NCD to earn double digit returnsIIFL Finance, which is rated AA by Crisil, is offering NCDs worth Rs 1,000 crore including a base issue size of Rs 100 crore and a green-shoe option to retain oversubscription of up to Rs 900 crore. |
| January 2021 Construction Spending Again ImprovesWritten by Steven Hansen The headlines say construction spending grew month-over-month. Our analysis shows the rolling averages marginally declined.
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| : AstraZeneca sold its stake in Moderna for more than $1 billion, as it looks to develop its own pipeline of drugsThe sale comes after shares in COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna soared fivefold in 2020. |
| : Ladbrokes owner Entain hikes offer for rival Enlabs to $440 millionThe deal comes weeks after Entain rejected a $11 billion offer from MGM Resorts. |
| Need to Know: Bitcoin is at a ‘tipping point’ between mainstream boom and speculative implosion. Citi says one is more likelyCiti analysts said we could see a “massive transformation” of cryptocurrency into the mainstream. |
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